Much has been made of Latrell Sprewell’s status as a starter-reserve-starter. But truth be told, his minutes have been pretty much the same either way. It’s been backup center Chris Dudley’s playing time that has fluctuated greatly this year, and he stands to get major minutes for the next week or so, starting with last night’s game against Cleveland.

Dudley went from DNP in Phoenix to the starting lineup the very next game in Los Angeles. And with starting forward Larry Johnson suffering a sprained knee Tuesday against Indiana, it would seem Dudley will find himself in the starting lineup for at least the immediate future.

“It can be [disconcerting],” Dudley said of going from major minutes to no minutes and back at the drop of a hat. “But you have to just try and stay ready, especially the times you’re not playing. Make sure you stay ready physically and mentally, and just realize that you can be called upon at any time.”

And that time is now. Johnson has a grade-one sprain, which precedent shows can take about a week to heal. And while technically Sprewell is getting a promotion by moving back into the starting lineup at small forward, he averaged 37.5 minutes in his two starts this year and 32.6 in his 16 games off the bench.

But Dudley, who had been all but persona non grata for the Knicks, will see his minutes increase dramatically. He averaged 13.7 minutes in the Knicks’ first 31 games, but didn’t play in four of those, as recently as Friday in Phoenix.

“You just have to stay sharp mentally; it’s harder than the physical part,” Dudley said before his ninth start of the season. “But you just practice hard, work out hard on the bike, and put it out of your mind. You have a game to play.”

With Johnson out, the Knicks will be missing 12.4 points a game, and their only other legitimate post scorer other than Patrick Ewing. Without Johnson to draw double-teams down low, life will become harder on New York’s perimeter players.

But Dudley will try to provide something different. Even after a late surge, the Knicks are still just 19th in the league in rebounding. And Dudley has proven that when he gets extended minutes, he can be effective on the boards, particularly at the offensive end.

“We’re still going to have to go inside-out, even though we’re down a post scorer – unless Dudley just starts killing ’em on the offensive boards,” Jeff Van Gundy said. “He hasn’t had that breakout offensive rebounding game we need from him if he’s gonna be on the floor extended minutes. But playing with Patrick and some of the other players should open up the boards for him.”